Hillsdale whips Leslie; Comets top Spartans

Saturday

Feb 23, 2013 at 9:30 AM

By Ed Patinoed.patino@hillsdale.netLESLIE — The Hillsdale High School boys basketball team is building plenty of momentum as the postseason draws closer.Hot shooting from Brandon Bisher sparked a dominating effort Friday as the Hornets stormed to a 61-33 victory over the Leslie Blackhawks in a non-conference game.Hillsdale (17-2) has won eight straight games. The Hornets close out the regular season next Thursday at home against Albion. District play begins March 4 with the Hornets playing in the Class C district at Addison.Bisher connected on five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 22 points for Hillsdale. The game was never much in doubt as the Hornets built a six-point lead after the first quarter, then increased their advantage to 31-8 by halftime."Our defense was decent and we contested a lot of shots," Hillsdale coach Brad Felix said. "Brandon stepped up and hit a lot of big shots for us. It was a physical game and I'm happy we came out of it pretty much unscathed."Andrew Wilcox added 10 points, four assists and three steals for the Hornets, while Trey Conrad had six points. Patrick Drews scored five points and Zach VanOrman grabbed 11 rebounds. Bailey Boyd and Lukas Miller both scored four points.Noah Jansen had 13 points to lead Leslie. Matt Subject added six points while Joe Crow scored four points.The Hornets and Albion are former Southern Michigan Activities Association rivals. Both teams competed for the conference title for several years."It will be a great test going into districts," Felix said. "We've had some knock down drag outs with them over the years, and they're very quick. We'll have to be on top of our game defensively."Jonesville 55, Springport 44The Jonesville High School boys basketball team continued its hot streak Friday with a road victory over the Springport Spartans in a Big Eight Conference game.Jonesville (10-9, 8-5 Big Eight) has won seven of its last nine games. The Comets close out the regular season Thursday against Quincy before entering the Class C district tournament at Addison."We've played well the second half of the season," Jonesville coach Larry Sheerer said. "This could be a pretty good finish for us."Trailing by two after the first quarter, the Comets outscored Springport 16-6 in the second quarter. Jonesville carried a 26-18 lead into halftime.The teams matched baskets throughout the second half, but the Comets maintained their lead until the end.Brandon Jenkins scored 15 points to lead Jonesville, while Aaron Cleveland added 14 points. Wes Racker had eight points and four rebounds and Ben Ackerson scored six points. Kyle Jones and Seth Taylor both grabbed four rebounds and Kyler Gimenez handed out six assists and forced four steals.Concord 66, Reading 45Playing shorthanded, the Reading High School boys basketball team was unable to keep pace in a road loss to the Concord Yellow Jackets in a Big Eight Conference game Friday.Reading (5-13, 1-12 Big Eight) was without two players, while the Yellow Jackets played at full strength. The game turned in the second quarter as Concord outscored the Rangers 17-4. The Yellow Jackets led 31-15 at halftime and cruised to the win."Concord is quite deep and us being shorthanded made a big difference," Reading coach Brett Kerspilo said.Brandon St. Clare turned in a strong game for the Rangers with 20 points, seven rebounds and eight steals. Dylan Martin added four points and five rebounds.Reading will host Athens on Tuesday.